“The amount of time you have to put into it, the sacrifice that you put into your body, it’s not something that you’re eager to do again,” he told PEOPLE. “It’s a huge commitment.”

All the blood, sweat and tears [literally] can be seen in the film.

“One thing I know, and we always talk about, is whatever you put into your character, how much commitment you have to put into the movie, all of that energy is in the film,” he said. “I can feel that energy when people see the film.”

Even after two workouts a day and too many sparring sessions to count, Gyllenhaal still feels like what he did pales in comparison to what people do in their real lives.

“I hate to be so thoughtful,” he said, “but I would say when you see what people really do when you’re playing a character – I’ve had the opportunity to play a police officer, I’ve had the opportunity to play a sociopath, I’ve had the opportunity to play military, a boxer – and particularly the jobs in the military and the jobs that are physical like this, you’re an actor.

“There is nothing hard compared to what the people do for real.”

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Changing Looks

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